Food Bank Society of Whitehorse receives grant for $750,000.00 for Purchase of Building.
FOR RELEASE
December 19, 2013
An early Christmas present for the Whitehorse Food Bank
WHITEHORSE—The Yukon government today gave the Food Bank Society of Whitehorse an early Christmas present—funding to help the organization purchase its building and the lot it stands on.
“This one-time funding of $750,000 will help the food bank buy its current building and location, giving it a stable, secure and accessible presence downtown,” Premier Darrell Pasloski said.
“Today the hard work of our volunteers, donors, board and staff has paid off,” Food Bank Society of Whitehorse executive director Stephen Dunbar-Edge said. “Sustainability has been job one since I joined the food bank. I am very excited that this need has been recognized and that we receive such remarkable community support. This financial contribution will move the food bank ahead toward our goals by leaps and bounds.”
Once it purchases the building, the society intends to renovate and provide rental space for other non-government organizations, creating a community-type centre that would provide a variety of services to a similar client group.
“This initiative makes sense in so many ways,” Minister of Health and Social Services Doug Graham said. “A central location for a range of organizations will help improve services to Yukoners and we are pleased to be able to assist the food bank in implementing its vision for the future.”
Since opening in 2009, the Whitehorse Food Bank has served single-parent and two-parent families, couples with no children and single people.
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Contact:
Elaine Schiman
Cabinet Communications
867-633-7961
elaine.schiman@gov.yk.ca
Pat Living
Communications, Health and Social Services
867-667-3673
patricia.living@gov.yk.ca
Stephen Dunbar-Edge
Executive Director, Food bank Society of Whitehorse
867-393-2265
ed@www.whitehorsefoodbank.ca